How to Write Your Most Effective Call to Action Copy

Virtually all email marketers understand the value of an email call to action. It doesn’t matter how many of your customers read your messages; if virtually none of them take any sort of action, your efforts have been wasted.

That’s why it’s important to not only include a call-to-action button or text, but to work hard on the CTA copy itself. A strong CTA will actually inspire readers to learn more, buy your product, or sign up for a service. A weak CTA is something most will ignore.

If you’re not sure how to improve your CTAs, keep the following tips in mind. They’ll help you better understand how to develop CTAs that convert.

Know Your Goal

You should always know why you’re emailing your customers in the first place. Every message you send should have a goal behind it, preferably one you can measure. In order to reach this goal, you’ll need to make sure your emails reach inboxes. Use an email address verifier to weed out any bounce emails from your list that will impede your messages landing in inboxes.

Remember, email marketing is still very effective, even among Millennials. That said, no marketing campaign is entirely effective without a clear purpose.

Knowing what that goal is will help you develop your email CTAs, but it’s only part of the process. For the best results, it’s a smart idea to iron out your CTA before you even draft the email itself. Having this in place already makes it easier to align the content of your email with your overall goals.

Study Call to Action Examples

Learn from brands whose CTAs you admire, and you’ll start to find that it’s easier to apply their tactics to your own marketing campaigns.

You don’t have to limit yourself to email calls to action, either. You probably encounter many different examples every day, from Facebook ad CTAs to when you’re prompted on a website for an email signup for a newsletter. It’s often easy to modify the formulas from these examples to fit your needs.

For instance, Square demonstrates the importance of all visual elements in a call-to-action button. The button itself is fairly simple. The background image isn’t very dynamic, either. But it does show how easy it is to use the product. This makes potential customers more likely to consider signing up.

As the Square example shows, the copy itself doesn’t need to be very interesting. “Square works for every business.” A simple statement married with simple images.

Look for other examples in your daily life, and take notes when a CTA stands out, whether in a positive way or a negative way. Soon you’ll have a long list of qualities that separate the effective CTAs from the ineffective.

Let Readers Know What They’ll Get

It’s very important that an email CTA makes it very clear to readers what they’re getting in return when clicking. In concise, simple language, state what they’re signing up for.

Too many marketers make the mistake of stating all the benefits of an offer that they forget to communicate exactly what’s being offered.

It’s also important to be honest with customers. Don’t advertise a “free” offer if they’re going to find out there are certain conditions that limit how free the offer really is. Be upfront, and you’ll boost brand loyalty.

Focus on Action

If you’re writing an email CTA, you should focus on words that encourage action, right? Experts point out that certain trigger words, like “Join” or “Claim” or “Get” generate reactions in readers that make them more likely to actually take some sort of action.

Those experts also cite case studies that indicate the importance of writing as if you were the reader. In one instance, a simple change in phrasing from “Get Your Free Template” to “Get My Free Template” resulted in a 90% increase in conversion rates.

Stay on Brand

As with all copy, from your call to action button to your email sign up prompts, you need to stay on brand. Don’t include exclamation marks just to get a reader’s attention if that kind of energy isn’t appropriate for your organization’s branded identity. A consistent brand will help you forge lasting relationships with customers.

Finally, experiment. Call to action examples that work for another company might not work in a different context. These tips will help you improve your email CTA copy, but it’s still necessary to measure your success. Doing so yields valuable insights and stronger overall strategies.